Najwa Ghanem

Najwa Ghanem (; born 1958) is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden, being the daughter of his mother's brother. She is also known as Umm Abdallah (mother of Abdallah).

Biography Najwa was born to Ibrahim and Nabeeha in Latakia, United Arab Republic (present-day Syria), and her family was originally from Yemen. She had five siblings. She travelled with him to Sudan and Afghanistan.

According to Abu Jandal, she left Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks and did not return. In 2005, Huthaifa Azzam, son of Abdullah Azzam, stated that she was living in Damascus with her son Abdel Rahman.

Family She is the mother of 11 children, including Saad. She co-authored Growing Up bin Laden with Omar. Her daughter Iman who was released by Iran in 2010 went to live with her in Syria. According to a close family member in 2011, Najwa's mother died of shock and grief after hearing of her son-in-law's death.